Chapter 2- We're gonna find her
Summary: The title says it all

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Mal poured over her drawings. They made no sense to him. It was just the same few images over and over again. A girl, a swing, the men that took her, and an autumn tree.

"My husband needs a course," Zoe said as she joined Mal at the table.

"I need to know where they went," he snapped.

"Do you really think the answer is in her scribblin's?"

"What else do we got to go by? She told me I'd know when to look at 'em, and I say that's right now."

"Need some fresh eyes, Captain?" Simon offered. "I'm experienced in the way River thinks."

Mal nodded and handed him half of the stack. Zoe got up and went back onto the bridge to see Wash and give Mal some space.

****

"I'm so worried 'bout Simon, 'Nara!" Kaylee cried.

"I know. This is a bad situation all of the way around."

"What if we never find her?"

"We will. He won't stop until he finds her."

"Right. Cap'in is on his side this time. He ain't gonna sleep 'til he finds her too."

"He did get rather attached to her, didn't he?"

"Yeah. She got attached to him too. It was all sorts of cute."

"Cute?"

"Yeah! They looked adorable together. But now she's all alone without him or nobody she knows! What if they're really hurtin' her?"

"We just have to find her soon."

"What if we find her even more broke than before? Or worse? What if we find her dead? Or not at all?"

"You mustn't think that way. We will find her and we'll all be there to help her through. She's a strong kid."

"She ain't a kid no more, 'Nara. She ain't the same as when she was first here. She's older 'n a bit less crazy. This could set her back. I don't think Simon could take it."

"I don't think anyone on this ship can."

****

The door swung open. She kept her eyes shut as long as she possibly could. She could pretend that she was in her room with Simon and Mal…

"Time to get back to work, River."

The restraints were opened. She kicked one of them in the jaw and tried to make a run for it. They caught her and dragged her down the hall.

"What happened to you? You used to behave so well."

"Not the same broken toy you like to play with," she spat.

They put her back in the chair. All of the needles were set out in front of her on a tray lined up in two shiny rows, sparkling in the bright lights. She found it ironic that something that looked so pretty could be so harmful.

"Shall we begin?" the doctor asked. His polite tone sickened her, especially since she saw right through his bedside manner. She knew what he was going to do. She saw his mind and his soul.

He gave her the sedative and then rammed the first needle into her temple. She screamed and held onto the arms of the chair for dear life.

"Sh, don't scream. I know where you are. He will too," her younger self smiled reassuringly. "Had to help you save him. Now I'll help him save you. But you have to fight them. Don't let them in. Not this time. Nightmares help their work, so I'll send you good dreams. Hang on, River. He'll save you soon. He always saves you."

Her eyes drifted over to someone on the right. It was Mal.

"It's okay, darlin'," he said tenderly. "We're gonna bring you back home. Your real home."

Her eyes opened and she fought the urge to scream as another needle entered her skull. The doctor's assistant looked at her oddly.

"She's awake."

"I know. The readings are all wrong. I don't know what she was just dreaming, but it blocked us out like a gorram brick wall."

****

"Well?" Mal asked Simon tiredly.

"I don't know. I can't make sense of this. I don't know what it means."

"Damnit!"

He collected the papers and started to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to think."

"And I need to find my sister! They got her back, Captain! We need to find her and all we've done is look at her drawings!"

"You got a better idea? If so I'm all for it."

"I don't know what to do! I hate feeling so helpless…"

"We're gonna find her."

"How?"

"I don't know yet, but we will. You just gotta keep a level head so when we do find her, you can help us figure out how to go in and break her out again."

He didn't let Simon reply and decided to go down into River's room. He thought that she might have some other drawings there or something that could point him in the right direction. Anything, even if it was just a vibe he got from being around her stuff. She was a gorram psychic and scrawny men in blue gloves kicked his ass. As far as he was concerned, anything was possible.

He set the papers down and started going through her things. He lifted her pillow up and a sheet of paper flew out from the pillow case. It landed face down beside his foot. He sat down and picked it up. The paper was beat up and slightly ripped like it had been looked at a lot. His heartbeat sped up. Maybe it was the key to finding her.

When he turned it over he saw his own face looking back at him. He grinned. She did draw a picture of him. His grin quickly changed into a frown. It was his fault she was gone.

"Let him live and I'll go."

He felt a tingling sensation flutter across the side of his face and then a fiery flash on his cheek almost like someone had ran their feathery fingers across his face and then given him a kiss. His brow furrowed and he could have sworn that he felt a breeze blowing through the room. There must have been because the papers flew off of the nightstand and onto the floor.

"What are you tryin' to tell me, sweetheart?" he sighed.

****

She was still in the chair. The doctors were a bit perplexed. It seemed like every time they tried to work, her mind blocked them.

"Deeper," the doctor barked angrily as he upped her dose of sedatives.

Beads collected across the assistant's forehead as he carefully grasped the end of the needle. He slowly pushed it into her brain further. He had never let the needles go that far into a subject before. Honestly he didn't know how safe it was.

"It's okay," Mal said with his adorable boyish grin. "Nothin' is gonna-"

A Reaver popped up behind him with a hungry look in his eyes.

Corpse after corpse appeared before her eyes. The stench was unbearable. The sky was bright blue. Everything about the place was bright. Deceptively happy.

"They never lie down," her voice whispered.

She walked around through the white streets until she reached a shuttle. She glided through the hull and stood inside. A young brunette with a ponytail hit record.

"These are just a few of the images we've recorded," she said quietly. River watched her entire speech, leaping when she heard the pounding at the door.

She witnessed the Reavers break in and kill the woman before her eyes. She screamed when they noticed her hovering in the corner.

The view pulled back and up through the air, pulling her along with it. She saw the entire blue planet.

Her eyes flew open with tears streaming down her eyes. She knew the secret now. She knew why they wanted her. Everyone else would know it too.

The word slipped off of her tongue in a hushed whisper, "Miranda."